The Ospreys management team are taking strict action to shed their 'Galacticos' image by banning fake tans and fancy coloured boots and creating a fresh identify based on hard work and professionalism.
With the departure of high-profiled names or the so-called 'pretty boys' such as Gavin Henson and James Hook, the Liberty Stadium side want to create headlines based on their performances on the pitch rather than for any beauty rituals or fashion statements.
Players are now not allowed to have a spray tan and must not wear coloured boots - unless they have earned the right to do so.
The substance over style approach has been introduced so that Ospreys can "represent the region in the right way".
“The fake tan and the coloured boots and the Galacticos label doesn’t interest us really,” coach Sean Holley said.
“We’ve banned the tan. It’s real tan only. And you are only allowed to wear coloured boots if you’ve played over 50 times for the Ospreys or over 15 times for your country.
“We feel that you have to earn the respect, you have to earn the right to do something.
“We want to work hard, we want to represent our region properly. We don’t want to be false or misrepresented.”
The new rules have clearly been paying off. Ospreys, who boost a number of youngsters in their ranks this season, have won six of their first seven Pro 12 matches and currently top the table.
“We are trying to get good people, good young lads through who represent us well and I think we are achieving that at the start of the season." Holley added.
“You can see by the likes of the people who have re-signed, Shane, Alun Wyn, Adam, Ryan Jones. These sort of people are the mainstay, Duncan, Paul, Huw Bennett, Jonathan Thomas, the list goes on.
“They are still good international players, but they are the cornerstone of what we want to be represented as.
“I think a lot of our good has been understated in the past.
“A lot of the expectations we’ve had placed upon us have been a little bit misplaced in some of the terminology used.
“We’ve still got good players. We’ve just tried to shift the cultural emphasis on representing our region as best we can."
